The Life of Anna, Part 4: Ensnared (8 page)

“I can’t believe you hit Tyler,” she said,
looking up at him.

“He’s changed so much since he got his
piercing.” Tommy shook his head. “He’s so...I don’t know. He’s just
not the same.” He kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry he hurt you.”

Anna grimaced. “It’s okay. I wish I could say
I got used to it, but I can’t.” She sighed. “I don’t even heal as
quickly as I used to. Devin’s...punishments hurt for a lot longer
now.”

Tommy stroked her cheek. “I wish....” He
shook his head and sighed. “I’m sorry, Anna,” he said and kissed
her. His hand slid around the back of her head and she turned her
body to his.

She ran her hands across his shoulders and
down his arms. He had matured in the last few years. He was now a
grown man. His shoulders were broader; his arms were bigger. He
played football and basketball at Harvard. He had turned into a
kind, courteous, thoughtful man. He was going into his senior year
of college and would graduate in May.

His kiss was gentle and full of affection.
His lips caressed hers and then moved down to her neck and
collarbone. She pulled at the tie of her robe.

“Anna, you’re hurt,” he said in a husky
voice.

“Please, Tommy,” she implored softly. “Make
love to me. It’ll be the last gentle touch I have for a while.”

Tommy’s blue eyes searched hers and then he
bent down to kiss her again. “I never want to hurt you, Anna,” he
murmured against her lips.

“I know,” she smiled and wrapped her arms
around his neck.

Later, when they were laying together,
immersed in post-coital bliss, the door opened and Tyler walked
in.

Tommy sat up and covered Anna to her neck
with the sheet. “You could’ve knocked, dude.”

Tyler raised his eyebrows at Tommy. “You
gonna tell Kim about your mistress?”

Tommy went pale and Anna’s heart pounded. Who
was Kim?

“Not cool, Tyler,” Tommy growled.

“Oh, c’mon, Tommy. Anna would have to be an
idiot to not know you’ve got a girlfriend by now.” Tyler turned his
smirk on Anna. “Or did you think because he defended you, he still
wanted to be with you?”

A shame-filled chill ran through Anna’s body.
Of course Tommy would have a girlfriend. He had to get married once
he finished college. This Kim was a lucky girl.

“Get the fuck out of here, Tyler,” Tommy
snarled.

“My dad wants his slave back now. That’s what
I came to tell you.”

Anna shakily crawled out of the bed. This was
the end of the good part of the weekend. She walked out of the
bedroom towards Tyler’s room where her clothes were.

“Anna...wait,” Tommy said, following her.
“I’m sorry, Anna. I never meant to hurt you.”

Anna smiled as best she could and turned to
Tommy. “It’s okay, Tommy. There’s nothing to be sorry for.
I...should have realized you would be in a relationship by now.
I’ve kinda been out of it for a while.” She turned and went to pick
up her clothes and started dressing.

Tommy sat on the bed. “Anna, you were the
first girl I fell in love with. God, if things were different....”
He ran his hands through his scraggly hair.

She gave him a weak smile. “If things were
different...a lot of things would be different.” Her heart ached
for Alex so suddenly she gasped and pressed her hand to her
chest.

“You still miss him?” he asked quietly.

Anna closed her eyes. “Yes,” she whispered.
“So much I can hardly stand it sometimes.”

Tommy stood and hugged Anna, holding her for
a long time.

“Your girlfriend’s a lucky girl, Tommy,” she
said, pulling away. “You’re a good guy.”

He looked down at her. “Maybe. Although
she’ll never have all of my heart.” Tommy brushed Anna’s cheek with
the back of his fingers, then leaned down to kiss her again.

Anna reluctantly pulled away from him. “I
have to go. Devin will be angry.”

Tommy let her go. “Find me if you have any
free time.”

Anna nodded and followed Tyler to the hotel
suite she would share with Devin tonight.

The Gathering was much like the others she
remembered, though Devin no longer pretended to be nice to her. He
treated her as a slave and passed her around to the cruelest of the
men. The only nice thing he did was send her home with Ian on
Sunday night rather than taking her to drop off Tommy and Tyler in
Massachusetts. She was sad to say goodbye to Tommy without any more
time with him, but knew it was for the best. He needed to get back
to his girlfriend and she needed to get home to rehearsals.

After she returned from the Gathering, she
distanced herself even more from those around her. She snapped at
anyone who tried to talk to her. Before the first dress rehearsal
in the theater, Isaak pulled her aside and told her she needed to
fix her attitude.

“Or what? You’ll kick me out? Devin won’t
allow it.”

Isaak sighed. “Anna, this isn't you. You’re
not an ice queen.”

“How do you know, Isaak? Maybe this is
exactly who I am.” She stalked off and left him staring after her
in the hallway.

Devin was at her apartment waiting for her
when she got home that evening. He grabbed her around her throat
and pushed her up against the wall.

“I don't like having to come down here and
talk to you about your attitude, Anna,” he said through clenched
teeth.

She clawed against his grip and gasped for
breath as he held her there. At long last, he released her and she
fell to the floor. She grasped her neck and felt the tender skin
where Devin had squeezed. She would have bruises in the
morning.

“You told me you didn’t care what I did, as
long as I took care of myself and danced well.”

“Well, your attitude caused Isaak to call me
and ask if he could pull you from the Corps. I told him I would
speak to you and that it wouldn’t be an issue any longer.” He
pulled her to her feet by her hair. “So I’m talking to you,” he
snarled. “Fix your attitude or we will have another attitude
adjustment session.”

Anna burst into tears. Desperation made her
bold enough to speak out. “I don't know what you want from me,
Master. I’m trying to keep people away from me so they don’t
interfere with my devotion to you. If I’m nice to them, they start
trying to be my friend. I just want to go there and dance and they
won't leave me alone.”

Devin caged her chin and studied her eyes.
She could feel him reading her thoughts.

“Fine. I will take care of things. For now,
be polite and cold, but not rude. Opening night is this Friday,
correct?”

“Yes, Master.” She paused. “Are you going to
come?”

“I will be there. Did you get your dress?” He
released her chin.

Anna nodded. Ian had taken her shopping a few
weeks ago. The dress frightened her because Devin had insisted on a
red dress for the evening. It was slinky, strapless and low cut
with a high slit on her right leg.

“If you behave between now and then, I will
help you out.” He didn’t need to give the rest of the threat. She
would behave.

“Now go clean up. I want to fuck you before I
leave.”

Dress rehearsals ran all that week. The
entire company had morning class together on the stage, which made
it difficult to avoid her former friends. They didn’t seem to
understand she wanted nothing to do with them, so she just ignored
them when they talked to her.

Friday morning, there was more buzz than
normal. Anna figured it was just opening night jitters until she
heard the girls gossiping about a new dancer.

“Omigod, did you see his ass?”

“Is he gay?”

“He’s Russian. He doesn’t have to be gay to
be good.”

“And his eyes!”

Anna rolled her eyes and walked to the corner
of the stage where she got ready for class. The girls were starting
to get really annoying when Isaak clapped his hands for their
attention.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to
introduce you to our newest dancer, Peter Asimov. He will be
hanging around for the performances the next two weeks so he can
get to know you all and how the company works. He will, of course,
be performing in the Nutcracker with us.” Isaak went on to list his
impressive resume.

Anna looked up to see the girls watching the
new dancer with bright eyes. As she finished tying her pointe shoe,
she glanced at the new dancer.

And gasped.

Oh God, this had to be some sort of trick.
Standing not ten feet away from her was Peter, grandson of Vitaly,
who had taken Alex away from her.

His warm brown eyes lifted to meet hers and
he smiled. He had grown a goatee since she saw him last and looked
older, but it was definitely him. Devin hadn’t told her he was a
dancer. Not that he’d had a chance.
Fuck.

Anna clenched her jaw, but didn’t move
otherwise. He was a future Elder and she had to be polite and
accommodating to him. Maybe he wouldn’t recognize her. She turned
quickly away and got ready for the first warm-up. Thankfully, he
went to stand next to Aaron and Stephanie and she didn’t have to
think about him anymore.

She was heading off the stage after class
when she felt a hand on her elbow. She turned and looked directly
into Peter’s eyes.

“You’re Anna, right?” he said with an accent,
though not as thick as she would have expected. His voice was deep
and, had he been anyone else and she been in a different life,
would have made her knees turn to jelly. “I don’t know if you
remember me....”

“I remember you,” she interrupted coldly,
lifting her chin. “Why are you here?”

“I wanted to have a break from my family and
have always heard wonderful things about the San Francisco Ballet
Company. You were the first to bring Nutcracker to America,
right?”

“You left the Kirov to dance here?” She
arched her brow in disbelief. The Kirov was one of the best dance
companies in the world.

Peter smiled a megawatt smile and shrugged.
“I had an opportunity to come and dance here. I also heard there
were very pretty ballerinas here.” He looked her up and down. “They
weren’t lying.”

“Yes, well, I’m sure you’ll have your pick,”
she said in a dry voice. “They seem quite enthralled with you.
Excuse me.” She turned and walked away. He wasn’t technically and
Elder-Son yet...right?

Throughout rehearsal she felt Peter’s eyes on
her. Why was he watching her? There were plenty of other girls that
would be thrilled to have his attention. Had she not made herself
clear?

When rehearsal was over, she saw him walking
towards her and escaped to the Corps dressing rooms before he
caught her. She changed and got out of the theater quickly, walking
home in half the time it normally took her.

Anna walked back to the theater that
afternoon carrying her dress and everything she needed to get ready
for the after-party. She should have taken the bus.

She paused to catch her breath before she
opened the door.

“Can I help you carry your things?” a deep
voice behind her asked.

She whirled around to see Peter behind her.
Some of the other corps dancers were walking up to the door and
they looked at the two of them curiously.

“No,” she snapped and opened the door and
walked away as quickly as possible.

To Anna’s relief, she didn’t see Peter the
rest of the afternoon and evening. She stayed in the dressing room
as much as possible, and kept to herself. The other girls gossiped
about him and Anna tried not to listen.

There was a burst of laughter. “Yeah, maybe
that’s why he thinks he likes her. She reminds him of his icy
home.”

Anna had hidden herself in a corner, so no
one saw her. She had a feeling they were talking about her, and she
didn’t care. At least that’s what she told herself. She would not
admit that she was lonely and missed her friends.

The show went very well. Standing ovations
and all. Anna thought Aaron was spectacular as always. She didn’t
realize how much she’d missed his dancing. Without thinking about
it, she went up to him after the curtain fell and hugged him.

“Anna...,” he whispered as he held her.

She backed away suddenly, realizing what
she’d done. Several of the other dancers stared. Without a word,
she ran away and hid in the dressing room backstage. How could she
have been so stupid? She needed to keep herself aloof. Apart from
people. For their sake as well as her own. She needed to be
wholeheartedly devoted to Devin and no one else.

She began to get ready and soon heard the
other girls coming in. She was putting her dress on when the other
girls began to enter the room. Anna looked in the mirror and hated
how she looked. What would Devin do to her in a red dress?

“Damn, you clean up good,” Cindy, one of the
dancers, commented.

Anna didn’t reply and made her way out to the
lobby where the party was in full swing.

She felt awkward and self-conscious as she
made her way through the crowd. She recognized many of the men, and
didn’t like the smiles they gave her. Finally, she spotted Devin
near one of the tables of food and walked over to him.

“Anna,” he said, kissing her cheek. “You
danced well tonight.” He handed her a glass of wine.

“Thank you, Ma...Devin,” she corrected
herself.

He pulled her close. “You look delicious in
red, Baby,” he whispered in her ear. “I’ve noticed many of the men
admiring you.”

Anna smiled nervously and looked at the
floor. She hated to think about what they were thinking. Jack
walked up to them a few minutes later.

“Look how pretty my little Anna is,” Jack
said with a grin. “I think we should have put her in red sooner,
Devin.”

Anna blinked back the tears of fear as they
talked about her with subtle innuendoes at what the color
meant.